Teachers
Amanda is a teacher, mom, and life-long learner who is dedicated to continually striving to make her classroom an interesting and comfortable place to be. She has been teaching at the Charter School since 2003. Amanda is a big fan of alternative education, having seen how it shaped her own personality and outlook on life. She got her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, majoring in English with a minor in Education. Her Teacher Credential is from Dominican College in San Rafael.
A month after Andrew was born, Neil Armstrong and the crew of Apollo 11 landed on the moon. We still don’t understand how much infantile experiences shape beliefs and personalities, but perhaps because of his early cultural exposure to exploration, Andrew ended up feeling such a profound sense of adventure and mystery towards life. There are so many unexplained things in the world he says and feels like he needs a thousand lives to really live this one.
As an educator, Andrew tries above all else to bring to students’ awareness a profound sense of appreciation for the world around us. But as with all investigation, Andrew sincerely believes that a strong sense of ethics must be adhered to: during our adventures of the unknown we must have a well developed sense of how we are going to treat others.
He believes that respect, tolerance, and appreciation are the basic human dispositions which should enlighten our experience of exploration. For if we adhere to these basic principles of ethics, than the wake of our exploration is a clean path of positivity and benefit, which not only ensures lifelong happiness and success for oneself, but also for the entire world community.
Andrew’s own sense of adventure has taken him to a few places over the years. He received a football scholarship out of high school, and was formally educated at U.C Davis where he received a Bachelors of Science degree in Human Development. Before he was compelled to become an educator, he studied and apprenticed to organic vegetable and fruit farmers throughout California and Oregon, studied and worked in sustainable forestry, apprenticed with a fine woodworker, learned to heal with whole foods, studied wine production and appreciation, and then worked for a number of years in a four star restaurant in the Napa Valley. He most recently traveled to Tibet and studied meditation in a high altitude monastery under the guidance of qualified lineage masters. He also enjoys bicycling, and reading and writing awesome stories of adventure.
Before becoming the middle school language arts instructor at the Santa Rosa Charter School, he worked for three years as the 7th-8th grade teacher at the Lake County International Charter School, where he taught all subjects and developed a conflict mediation program.
And oh ya, he has three amazing kids of his own, aged 20, 18 and 13!
Before Bill started teaching, he was an Information Technology Director for a large company in Los Angeles. One day he decided that he wanted to do something more fulfilling with his life, so he quit his job, sold most of his possessions and bought a one-way ticket to Thailand. Two years later, after visiting more than 30 countries, he finally found his mission in life. He settled down in northern California and became a teacher. Bill shares his love of other cultures and creative spirit with his students. He creates an environment that is safe, inviting and fun. Bill wants all of his students to know that they are capable of achieving anything. He uses a lot of technology in his classroom, and teaches a rock and roll guitar class after school.
Brenda is the middle school math and science specialist. She teaches through a hands on approach to both disciplines and use CPM, a cooperative group method, to achieve this goal for mathematics. Core classes focus on labs, information in texts, and note-taking in science. Students gain understanding of complex scientific concepts by manipulating materials, creating graphs and making calculations based on their observations. Brenda’s association with Santa Rosa Charter School began in 1996 when her first daughter, Brigit, entered preschool with LaDonna. Brenda is passionate about cooperative learning and positive discipline. Positive discipline is the most respectful and, in the long run, most rewarding method of dealing with students. Brenda worked in her children’s classrooms, served on the Board and began teaching in the middle school in 2002. She immediately began restructuring to create the current middle school program. Brenda has been teaching all her life. She inadvertently taught her little brother to read when he was three. She has taught a variety of math and science classes in Arizona and California.
Coming Soon...
Teaching is my second career and I am enjoying it tremendously. I was an environmental hydro-geologist for many years after graduating with a B.S. and M.S. in Geology from San Diego State University. I have always been attracted to alternative education as both of my daughters attended a Montessori preschool/elementary school in Petaluma; I even taught at the preschool. I was also involved in the open education class at Wilson School in Petaluma where I enjoyed developing and teaching the science program. After I obtained my teaching credential, I taught at the Petaluma Charter School for 2 1/2 years until it closed in June 2004. I was therefore very excited when the 2nd/3rd grade position opened up at the Santa Rosa Charter School-I just love working with this age group. I also received the initial IB training last year and I am very impressed with this program. I enjoy the creativity, support and teamwork that a charter school offers and I am glad that once again I will be part of such an exciting and rewarding school.
Dorinda Stanley is a life long learner. She has been teaching since 1994 and has worked with students ages 4-12. She is currently teaching first grade and loves the challenges of this age level especially where there is so much parent participation. Dorinda has a BA in Child Development and a minor in Psychology from Chico State University. She received her Multiple Subject Credential with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Sonoma State University in 1994 and has been teaching in public schools since then. Parent participation, teacher interaction and curriculum development opportunities drew her to the Charter School in 1997. She loves working in such a positive environment where children come first and teachers, parents and administration work hand in hand to provide the best opportunities to learn.
JamieP@srecschool.org
Jamie was in her mid forties when she decided to pursue her life long dream to become an elementary school teacher. Until then, her life had been an adventure; experiences too many to list. Feeling she had been semi-retired the first half of her life, she was ready to narrow down her new career choices to four questions:
- How could she contribute in her community in a positive manner?
- How will she become financially secure with benefits included?
- What would she be passionate about?
- And last but not least, what type of job would allow her to have playtime to explore while continuing to be a life long learner?
Her answer to these questions was to face her biggest fear... go back to College. Somehow, someway. At age 41, she decided to go forward and earn her teaching credential. Five years later, and a few dollars in debt, she achieved her goal. In 2002, she graduated from Dominican College of San Rafael with her multi-subject teaching credential. Her personal philosophy is that children have a strong innate sense of curiosity combined with a desire to learn. Her commitment as a teacher is to encourage and empower children to question and to discover the answers.
“If I can plant a seed and make a positive contribution in children’s lives, than I have achieved my own personal goal this time around”.
Kellie Gurule is beginning her career as a Resource Specialist at Santa Rosa Charter School this year. While this is Kellie's first year as a credentialed teacher, she has over ten years experience working with elementary and secondary students. A life-long resident of Sonoma County, Kellie has worked for California State Parks, the U.S. Coast guard, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, as well as many local schools. During the last six years, Kellie has been employed by TLC Child and Family Services as a counselor and substitute teacher for students with emotional, social, and learning disabilities. This work with students and their families inspired Kellie to become a Special Education Teacher, and she graduated from Sonoma State University's Education Specialist program in December of 2009. Kellie currently lives with her husband and four-year-old son in Sebastopol, enjoying hiking, camping, backpacking, knitting and gardening in her spare time.
Kim Hawkins came to Santa Rosa Charter School in 2007, with a passion for Spanish and fourteen years’ experience teaching K-8 Spanish at a private school in Camarillo. She is delighted to be in a position to continue applying her skills and creativity with young learners. Kim earned her bachelor’s degree and her teaching credential with a double major in English and Spanish at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Two summers in Mexico provided the immersion needed to gain fluency in Spanish sufficient to be taken for a native. Kim has since attended language development courses at Sonoma State as well as TPRS foreign language teacher training. This input-based method enables students to acquire new languages in a fun and natural way. Kim likes to be called “MaestraKim.” In addition to teaching Spanish classes, she helps students improve their math and reading skills in a small group setting.
Mara began teaching kindergarten at the Santa Rosa Charter School in 1997. She has been working with young children since 1993. Mara attended San Francisco State University where she received a BA in psychology. She then attended Dominican University of San Rafael where she received her teaching credential. Mara has also taken many Early Childhood Education classes at the Santa Rosa Junior College. She chose to become a teacher for many reasons. She has long held an interest in, and a passion for, the field of education and has taken every opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in this profession. In the many years of working with younger children, Mara has found that each child has their own learning style and their own pace in which they learn most effectively. She believes that children need to explore things that they are interested in, and in doing so, need many hands on experiences. It is the process of discovery that is important for children. She also believes that curiosity and student-directed inquiry should be encouraged throughout the learning process. In addition practices which honor diversity in thinking, and in other cultures should be made an integral part of a program. It is important for everyone to feel included in school. Mara’s fun loving personality has aided in identifying and understanding young children. It has always been her goal to impart a positive and adventurous attitude in her students. Mara believes that learning should be fun and exciting. This school shares in the same educational philosophy that Mara believes in. She likes that the school encourages parent participation. She feels that it is important that there is a partnership between the school and the home, since parents and teachers are working toward the same goals. Children’s success relies partly on their Parent's participation in their education.
Monika Scoby brings to her art teaching position fourteen years of teaching & educational life experience. Having taught Kindergarten, Second Grade, Eighth grade Humanities, and elementary music & drama as well as art, she is finally able to focus her efforts this year on both of her favorite subjects of visual arts and music. She enjoys singing, playing guitar, painting, drawing & ceramics and looks forward to creating again with the SRCS students this year. Monika is originally from Orange County, California, but moved up to the Sonoma County area when she attended Sonoma State University for her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1995. After receiving her teaching credential in 1997, she has lived in Sonoma County ever since. She resides in Santa Rosa with her husband, Vern, and her two & ½ year old son, Charlie. Monika is very excited to be starting her third year here at the Santa Rosa Charter School & is so pleased to now be a parent in the school community as well with Charlie attending the preschool full-time!
While I was born in the Midwest and still call Kansas my home, my family traveled internationally for many years. We lived in Iraq, Brazil, Columbia and Spain for significant periods of time. After graduating from college in ’74, I moved to California. No particular reason except that I had never been farther west than Mead, Kansas. I'm glad I did because California has now become my new home. Sharm and I were married at Bodega Bay during the horrible floods of 1986. After a 10 year stint as a social worker I became a fine furniture maker, attending the School of Furniture Making at the College of the Redwoods in Mendicino. This class was taught by the internationally famous James Krenov. I loved/love this work but marketing was not my gift. Our dear son, Nick, was born and he changed my life. As the owner of a furniture making business, I could arrange my own hours. Those hours were spent enjoying the development of my son. We decided to enroll Nick in the Santa Rosa Playschool – the founding school for the present Charter School. That preschool required Monday night meetings every Monday night. Slowly I began to rethink my direction in life – not exactly a mid-life crisis. I decided to enter Dominican College to become an educator, receiving my credential in ’93. At the same time the Charter School legislation was adopted. I became a significant contributor to the design and implementation of our present Charter School. There were difficult times but we survived and have grown strong with renewed direction. I have appreciated our choice and effort to become an IB PYP school, particularly since there was such a strong overlap. Both IB and our charter School have similar core educational values. I was so taken by the IB PYP that at our initial training in Seville, Spain, I was fortunate enough to arrange a teacher exchange. In 2000, I decided to take a significant risk and arranged to exchange teaching positions with Susan Hillman, a third grade teacher at the Istanbul International Community School in Istanbul, Turkey. This one month exchange was amazing for my family and myself and it renewed our desire to visit and understand other cultures. I have been involved in a variety of school activities including being the school's technology mentor, the first IB coordinator and arranging numerous community building events. Recently, I have felt the need to continue my professional development, to understand more clearly educational issues and my orientation around these issues. I am presently enrolled in Dominican University’s graduate school and will receive a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction in June of 2001. During these seven years at the Santa Rosa Charter School I have been continually renewed by the joy of children learning and the dedication of our parents. Together we have become a family of learners. I am proud and humbled in being part of this family.